Google Fans, Foes Weigh In on FTC Decision

That "mixed" reaction even extended to twodifferent groups, both of which claim Microsoft among its membership.

Ed Black, president of the Computer and CommunicationsIndustry Association, whose members include Google and Google critic and searchcompetitor Microsoft, called the FTC's decision not to proceed with a caseagainst Google for anticompetitive search allegations "the rightcall."

"As this investigation illustrates, the market for answeringconsumers' questions is dynamic and changing rapidly," Black said in astatement. "Traditional search engines are just one part of this expandingecosystem. Locking Google or any company into a 1998 version of Websearch would have harmed users and sent the wrong signal to companies lookingto evolve their business models to effectively compete in the rapidly evolving Internetmarketplace."

But Black also found cause for concern, specificallyGoogle's voluntary commitment to allow entities to opt out of its specializedresults pages, which he sees as a potential threat to fair use rights. "Iunderstand why Google, which has been offering websites an opt-out provisionfor some time now, was willing to offer additional opt-outs for its specializedresults pages, but we do not believe the company was under any legal obligationto do so. Other companies should not interpret this agreement asdiminishing their fair use rights in any way," he said.

The Progressive Policy Institute also saw the FTC decisionas the right one. "The FTC has shown how regulators can be innovation-friendly,"said PPI chief economic strategist Michael Mandel in a statement. "Given theimportance of innovation for American job growth and competitiveness, the FTCis setting a great example for other agencies."

FairSearch.org, whose members include Google searchcompetitors Expedia, Hotwire, Kayak -- and Microsoft -- called the FTC decision"disappointing and premature, coming just weeks before the company isexpected to make a formal and detailed proposal to resolve the four abuses ofdominance identified by the European Commission, first among them biaseddisplay of its own properties in search results."

According to a source on background, Microsoft was planningto weigh in on its own blog, likely making clear it came down on the"disappointed" side of the ledger.

The American Antitrust Institute had taken no position onthe investigation because it could not reach a consensus on what law Google hadviolated or what remedy would be effective.

The FTC closed its search investigation into Google withouta finding that it represented actionable anticompetitive conduct, but Googleseparate volunteered changes to its search business that are binding andenforceable.

"The issues relating to search manipulation allegationsare complex, not only with respect to pinning down a theory of antitrustliability but also with respect to determining an effective remedy onceliability has been determined," AAI said in a statement. "While wewould have preferred to see a consent order that binds Google, it isnevertheless significant that Google has made commitments that deal with manyof the most important allegations. We believe the result will be moretransparency for the user, more flexibility for advertisers to leave Google,and fewer complaints about screen scraping. The FTC must monitor on-goingactivities to ensure that these commitments are adequate."